The Queen of Roses
Southern California, 1903. A brazen, industrious American hotelier, an exquisite English debutante, year-round rose gardens, and disastrous wildfires.
Julia Kelly sows the greed and need of high society into the gardens of Pasadena, “City of Roses,” where the famous New Year’s Day Tournament of Roses takes root. Guy Whitely, an ambitious hotelier, and Adele Pearce, a debutante in search of a lifeline, are climbing the social ladder and twisting with the economic ups and downs of tourism and hotel resort life in “go to” southern California.
Kelly’s glowing love for Pasadena shines like the California sun, as her hometown is the setting of this dual-timeline story. Adele, wanting to settle old scores, summons Theresa Johnson, an aspiring journalist, to write her biography in 1960. Kelly makes smooth transitions between Adele’s weekly meetings with Theresa and young Adele’s account of her sudden departure from the London season for a drastic move to California in 1903. Young Adele fills in the gritty details of Guy’s growing empire of hotels, personal dilemmas, the beginnings of Rosewood House, and of course, the wildfires.
Kelly’s hotelier, Whitely, is the embodiment of the American male spirit. She develops his typical charming, ambitious, perfectionist attitude; but when the mask slips, he is quite a different and unlikeable man. Adele is bold, courageous, and easy to admire. She is eager to learn from Mrs. Barnes, doyenne of Pasadena, a key character who introduces her own daughter Elizabeth to Adele and recommends the gardener, Alex Macalister.
Glittering California society, terrifying wildfires, and stunning gardens form the foundation of Kelly’s exploration of the seasons of life at the turn of the 20th century. Adele transforms from British gentleman’s daughter to wealthy American’s wife and ultimately becomes The Queen of Roses. Highly recommended.
